Coming up down the road … is there a bright future coming up for in-car tech?

Yet another sign that the car is going gadget.

Now Linux is joining the bandwagon with its Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup. Members of this group that includes automotive and tech heavyweights will work on Linux-based standards for devices and services that will run on them.

Samsung’s Tizen is part of this collective. A further indicator that the electronics giant will be moving away from the Android OS.

I mean, if we’re all one day going to be carted around by Google’s robot-driven driverless cars, we might as well have some cool in-car apps to at least keep us interested, right?

Tech companies that have signed up are Tizen (the Linux-based platform that’s supported by Intel and Samsung), Texas Instruments, Harman, Intel, NEC, NVIDIA, and, of course — Samsung! Toyota, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover are among the auto companies that have jumped on the train.

Keep in mind, Linux is not even close to the first company to move in this direction, far from it. The last few years have seen various “cars of the future” moves from Google, Ford and Honda — and there has even been some speculation that Apple is working on concepts (omg! Don’t tell us … the iCar?).